Orillia students support local shelter

Students build fence for homeless shelter High school students build a fence for an Orillia homeless shelter.

High school students are collaborating on a project to help a homeless shelter in Orillia.

A construction class at Patrick Fogarty Catholic Secondary School has been building panels to install a fence in front of The Lighthouse Shelter in Orillia.

The collaboration began 18 months ago during a campaign created by The Lighthouse called 'Building Hope.'

The 'Building Hope' campaign proposed building a fence around the facility rather than planting trees.

"We wanted to allow privacy for our participants, but also a safety barrier that could also be monitored by our staff," organizers say.

The Lighthouse reached out to teachers at the Orillia high school to collaborate on the project.

The Simcoe Muskoka Catholic District School Board, along with other Lighthouse partners, worked together to fund the project.